Video Shows Burning Helicopter After Crash in New York Kills Two

Video footage from New York state showed a helicopter on fire after it crashed on Oct. 30, killing two people.

The crash happened in Beekmantown after the helicopter, flying between 65 and 80 feet off the ground, became entangled in utility wires, reported WCAX.

The four people inside, contractors who were working on the power lines, jumped from the burning chopper from the height of the power poles, about 40 feet off the ground.

“They jumped out,” a witness told the Plattsburgh Press-Republican. “It was either jump out or burn to death.”

The witness, who works at a nearby garage, rushed over to drag the people from the burning wreckage with the help of nearby farmers who had also rushed over.

The helicopter came crashing down less than 10 minutes later.

A helicopter crashed, killing two and injuring two others, in Beekmantown, New York on Oct. 30, 2018. Kayla LaVoie via Storyful

Stark Scene

Bystander Heather Porter was driving on a nearby road when the crash happened.

She realized what had happened as she got closer.

“I saw something off in the distance kind of smoking, thought maybe it was a transformer that had blown up or something, but as I kept coming up on it, bigger flames,” she told Fox 44.

“As I got closer, I could tell it was something else, but you could see people down in the field doing CPR and the victims and everything.”

Investigation

The New York State Police said in a statement that it was investigating the crash and that the helicopter was owned by Catalyst Aviation, LLC of Hammonton, New Jersey.

“Using the most advanced technologies available, Catalyst Aviation’s equipment and personnel are trusted by some of the nation’s top energy providers,” according to the company’s website.

Officials with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department, and the Clinton County Emergency Services were assisting the police, in addition to local fire and rescue personnel.

The police had been in contact with the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board.

A New York Power Authority spokesman told WCAX that the four crew members worked for Northline Utilities, a contracting company that inspects and maintains power lines. The two injured contractors were treated and released from the hospital.

From NTD.tv